The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established in April 1949 by the following founding members: Belgium, France, Denmark, Great Britain, the United States, Iceland, Italy, Canada, Luxembourg, Norway, the Netherlands, and Portugal.

Greece joined NATO in 1952, along with Turkey. Subsequent enlargements saw the accession of the Federal Republic of Germany, Spain, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania and Croatia.

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Greece’s accession to NATO (18 February 2012), the Alliance’s Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, visited Athens, and events marking the anniversary were held both in Greece and abroad.